December marks the start of the holiday season, providing charities with an excellent opportunity to boost their fundraising. Particularly through Community Fundraising.
This is an exciting and dynamic time for charities. Donations are increasing, fundraising campaigns are in full swing, and new strategies and ideas are being set in motion for the year ahead.
To help you, we've compiled a list of 12 effective fundraising ideas that can be easily launched on an online fundraising platform, such as iRaiser’s Community Fundraising Platform. They'll maximise your online fundraising and inspire your end-of-year campaigns!
1. Launch themed community fundraising campaigns
2. Organise an end-of-year auction online
3. Create a recipe book for the holiday season
4. Take advantage of Giving Tuesday
5. Organise matching gift challenges on your Community Fundraising Platform
6. Create greetings cards for your charity fundraising
7. Organise virtual parties
8. Offer festive meals or gift cards
9. Offer online gift-wrapping tutorials
10. Launch a charity advent calendar
11. Organise a Christmas Lights tour
12. Launch a New Year's resolutions campaign and keep an eye on January
During the festive period, the motivation to give is generally higher. According to iRaiser’s 2023 vs. 2022 Benchmark, in the UK, 41% of single gifts were collected during the last quarter of the year, with a peak in December.
The festive season is the perfect opportunity to inspire your supporters to create holiday-themed fundraising pages for your cause. Consider a "Christmas Singing Challenge," where participants sing carols, share their videos, and encourage donations from friends and family.
iRaiser’s tip: In peer to peer campaigns and crowdfunding, it's crucial to set clear, achievable goals and create a sense of urgency. We recommend setting a fundraising target on your online donation platform to motivate your fundraisers. Define a target and a specific end date on your campaign. You can even emphasise the countdown in your messaging to highlight the urgency.
Also think of highlighting the tangible impact of donations collected during this period. For example: "€150 raised will allow us to provide 75 meals to homeless people during winter outreach campaigns".
A number of charities, such as Shelter UK, are using the Christmas theme to develop a compelling story for their cause. Need help crafting the storytelling of your fundraising campaign for donations? See our article: The art of storytelling for charities.
iRaiser’s tip: When creating a campaign on the Community Fundraising Platform, use the Flex editor to add a festive touch, such as incorporating holiday tones into the colour scheme. Additionally, include components that share stories of past supporters who created fundraising pages or beneficiaries of your programs.
Organising an online auction through the Community Fundraising Platform is an effective way of collecting donations during the festive season. Here are a few tips:
Imagine a digital recipe book, packed with festive dishes and traditional recipes, created by your supporters, staff and benefactors. Sell the book online to your donor base, to collect donations for your charity. Then encourage each contributor to promote it with their own network!
Giving Tuesday, a global movement founded in 2012 in New York, offers not-for-profit organisations a unique opportunity to tap into generosity!
To maximise the impact and fundraising efforts of the day, encourage your supporters to create their own fundraising pages. Providing easy and attractive templates and visuals to share on social media. Use engaging content such as impact stories and fun challenges to engage your community. You can also organise virtual events to boost engagement and thank donors.
Would you like to discover some key tips and resources for engaging new supporters on this day? Read our article: Giving Tuesday Campaigns: fundraising tips for success.
To maximise the impact of your fundraising over the festive period, team up with a company or major donors and launch a matching gifts campaign. For example, you could announce that all donations made via the peer to peer fundraising in December will be doubled. Increasing the impact of each donation and your fundraising efforts!
Tip: To mobilise and engage as many supporters as possible, share regular updates on the progress of the challenge and celebrate successes!
With Christmas in the office and various events, it's the perfect time to strengthen your corporate relationships. Whether it's through tombolas, Christmas jumper days, or festive bake sales, there are many ways to work with local businesses to raise money, and bring joy over the festive season.
What's more, it can also serve as a starting point for developing your relationships with corporate partners in the new year. From payroll giving to volunteer days, it's the start of a solid and lasting partnership!
Personalised greetings cards are an original and personal way of sending holiday greetings while supporting a cause! So why not encourage your friends and family to design holiday cards in support of your charity?
On iRaiser's Community Fundraising Platform, you can set up a fundraising campaign where donations allow participants to receive personalised greetings cards. Create several donation levels, each corresponding to a specific number of personal greeting cards. For example: "€50 raised will provide you with 10 personalised cards".
Organise end-of-year parties online, such as biscuit decorating competitions, Christmas quizzes or a virtual cinema night! Use the Community Fundraising Platform to allow participants to create their own donation pages.
Each participant can collect donations to attend these festive events, making the experience interactive and engaging. Involve your supporters and create a memorable experience while raising funds in a fun way!
The idea is simple: on the platform, participants make a donation to register and take part in the event. They can also create their own peer-to-peer online fundraising campaigns to collect donations for the event.
Do you want to organise your charity event but don't know how to get started? We'll guide you step by step in our article: 5 steps to launching your fundraising event!
This type of campaign aims to raise funds to offer special support to vulnerable families over the holiday season. The donations collected are used to provide gift cards for shops or meals for your local community.
Here are some examples:
Virtual gift wrapping involves donors getting personalised video tutorials and tips for wrapping gifts.
For example, you can get volunteers who are comfortable in front of the camera to record videos and show how to wrap different types of gifts. Each video can include tips for creative, eco-friendly wrapping that's suitable for different shapes and sizes of gift.
Then encourage participation with engaging emails, inviting supporters to take part in the virtual gift-wrapping service. Highlight how their donations support your cause.
Get inspired by Hei Verden's Reverse Advent Calendar campaign! This reverse calendar helps you raise funds by supporting children's education. Each day, the calendar could feature episodes or online challenges linked to your cause, offering an immersion in the tangible impact of donations!
Organise a Christmas lights tour where participants vote for the best decorated house by making a donation on the corresponding fundraising page.
Votes can be collected through a dedicated fundraising page. Allow supporters to participate both by voting for their favourite decorations and by giving to your cause!
Research from Statista found that around 16% of people in Great Britain planned on making a New Year's resolution. The most common being to exercise more or change unhealthy habits (such as smoking or drinking).
So why not launch a fitness-related campaign that benefits both your cause and your supporters? Whether it's a walking or running challenge, or a commitment to give up something for a month, these efforts can help your supporters start the year on the right foot. A win-win situation!
According to Statista, in 2023, advertisers spent a record-breaking £9.5 billion during the Christmas season alone, which accounted for nearly a third of the total ad spend of £34.7 billion for the entire year.
Research also shows that the cost per thousand (CPM) is typically 21% lower in December compared to January. This makes December a cost-effective time to run ads, but can also make your campaign harder to get noticed. So, taking advantage of the less crowded, more impactful early January period can also be a strategic move to launch a campaign that leverages the tradition of New Year's resolutions.
By implementing these original fundraising ideas, charities can harness the holiday spirit, engage their communities and dramatically increase donations during this festive period. Need help planning your end-of-year fundraising campaign? Read our article: The perfect year-end fundraising strategy.